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Read the Scripture Guide June 28 – July 4, 2021 Sermon by Lead Pastor Dr. Pete Moon 6th Sunday After Pentecost Sermon Title: “Tumbling Walls” Notes from sermon on 6/27: To pray for this week: Family Focus Question Name some walls that are present in our society or in our lives. Is it possible for them to come “tumbling down”? Questions for Small Groups 1. The story of the walls of Jericho is a well-known story from most of our childhoods. As we get older, the violence of the story arrives on our radars. How do we deal with this today? 2. When you think about the story, where do you place yourself? As you read do you find yourself inside the walls, listening to the march around the city, or do you find yourself with the armies of Israel? Perhaps neither? Describe what it feels like. 3. The sermon speaks to the way that the cross has taken up all the violence and ambiguities of this story. The cross has demonstrated our God who will shout down the walls that keep our God from us and from one another. This has been done not through the shouts of an army or with trumpets but through the cross. How does the cross do that? Monday, June 28: Read Joshua 6:1-5, 15-16, 20 Walls. We’ve heard so much about them in recent years. We’ve also become so aware of many barriers between ourselves and others, some for our own safety during the pandemic, some of our own making due to countless years of prejudice, fear, and misunderstanding. This week, we begin our scriptures with the most famous wall in the Bible, the wall around the ancient city of Jericho. If we read only the verses assigned to us in this GPS, which are the ones we will hear read aloud next Sunday, the battle of Jericho sounds like a nice children’s message. If we dare to read the entire story, however, we will encounter a much darker story that causes us to ask all the right questions, rather than providing all the right answers. One message is resoundingly clear, however: the Kingdom of Heaven does not involve walls between people. As we will explore this week and in Pete’s sermon this Sunday, God no longer takes down walls with trumpet blasts and invading armies. This is now accomplished with the cross. Are we as a Christian people recognizing this function of the cross, or using the cross to build more barriers? Tuesday, June 29: Read Ephesians 2:14-18 As we read today’s New Testament scripture passage, the contrast between a fortified city under siege and a single humanity reconciled with both God and each other is striking. What’s the difference? Jesus. Through the life and words of Jesus, we are taught peace, harmony, and love. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we are able to march into territory that was previously walled off due to our own sin, discord, hate, and limitations. Do we believe in the power of the cross to heal these divisions? We know there have been plenty of walls built since the cross. How ironic and tragic that a burning cross has been used as one of the most horrific and violent representations of division and barriers to justice in our history. How will things be different now? How will we choose to embrace the real message of the cross and help all have equal access to love, justice, resources, inclusion, belonging, and peace? Wednesday, June 30: Read Genesis 3:1-9 Sin causes us to hide behind walls, whether they are made of bricks, fig leaves, gates, or mental barriers. Sin causes us to feel exposed…naked. We begin to doubt God’s abundant love and providence, so we desperately and ruthlessly build ourselves up (and apart) from others to feel better about ourselves and our questionable choices and beliefs. Let us take time to examine the areas in our lives where we feel most vulnerable. What are we trying to hide? What would happen if we confessed it to God and embraced God’s forgiveness? How would accepting the free gift of grace better allow us to lay down our armor standing between us and others, and see all of humanity as broken, beautiful, and beloved family members? Thursday, July 1: Read Matthew 28:45-53 Though it was made of cloth, not stone, the temple veil represented a much stronger barrier than the walls of Jericho. The temple veil separated the Holy of Holies – the earthly dwelling place of God’s presence – from the rest of the temple where men (and yes, only men…certain men) were allowed to tread. Only once a year was the single high priest allowed to pass beyond this veil in order to make atonement for the sins of all of Israel. Today we read how the temple veil was split in two, from top to bottom, the moment Jesus died. Jesus’s death alone sufficed for the atonement of all of our sins, and access to God was open to all people, for all time. Jesus died to break down barriers. How are we going to carry this message to the world and do the kingdom work to tear down any barriers that have been artificially put up in their place? Friday, July 2: Read 2 Corinthians 10:1-5 Today’s scripture emboldens us to wage war against enemy “strongholds” where sin and ignorance have taken root. We are to “demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.” (NIV) This should lead us to ask ourselves two questions. First, what arguments and pretenses can we identify that are clearly against the character of God? Second, what “weapons” can and should we use to wage such a war? Our readings this week have given us an answer to the first question: anything that creates barriers and separates people. Today’s reading gives us some answers to the second: wage war with the humility and gentleness of Christ, eschewing the weapons the world uses (physical power, intimidation, privilege), instead using our access to divine power through faith in God’s grace. How do we speak to the knowledge of God? By continuing to seek to know God through the means of grace (works of piety such as reading scripture, prayer, and worship, and works of mercy such as helping the sick, the imprisoned, the hungry, the poor, and those seeking justice). Where shall we start? Saturday, July 3: Scripture Memorization: Ephesians 2:14a “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier.” Sunday, July 4: Let us prepare our hearts and minds for worship in praying our Prayer of Common Confession: Almighty God, forgive us for our walls. We are like the people of Jericho, closed in and fearful. We have put our faith in our walls instead of you. Today, march around us with your grace, take our divisions down by your cross, and raise us up to a new place with you. We praise you this day for we deserve judgment, but you surround us with love and grace. For this and more we offer our thanksgiving in Jesus’ name. AMEN. .
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